Parliament, Thursday, 27 September 2018 – The Joint Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) has requested a postponement to report back to Parliament by tomorrow on whether Section 25 of the Constitution should be amended to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation.

The Co-Chairperson of the committee, Mr Lewis Nzimande, said the committee was instructed by the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces to ascertain whether a review of section 25 of the Constitution and other clauses is necessary, to make it possible for the state to expropriate land in the public interest without compensation, and also to propose constitutional amendments where necessary. The committee has already held public hearings in all provinces and held oral submissions in Parliament.

Mr Nzimande said due to the volume of public inputs received on this matter, the committee realised that it will not be able to meet this deadline for the report, as set by Parliament. “We have therefore already made a request to the presiding officers for an extension of the deadline, stating our reasons. We expect the request to be successful.

“In its request for a postponement, the committee did not request a specific date, keeping in mind the busy parliamentary calendar in the fourth quarter of the year. All committees of Parliament will be concerned with Budget Review and Recommendations Reports (BRRRs) until the end of October, which will receive preference. The committee thus had to take this into consideration. It is, therefore, expected that the committee will finalise its work by November 2018,” said Mr Nzimande.

ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CO-CHAIRPERSON OF THE JOINT CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW COMMITTEE, MR LEWIS NZIMANDE.

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